The Gloomy Paper-Man Came to My Door to Pursue His Love - Chapter 10

Xi Li ground his teeth. “I. Sent. It.”

As the words fell, the coastal tides stopped surging. The blooming white waves froze in mid-air. Xi Li watched as Qin Fei’s figure gradually became transparent before finally vanishing.

Once this person’s task was completed, he naturally detached from the main storyline. However, Xi Li remained trapped within it. The game program transmitted more data. Just like at the end of the prologue, he still needed to record a video message in this scene.

Tilt your head at a 45-degree angle toward the night sky and speak your lines gently: “You are the most beautiful. I had no time to think when I said it, and after thinking, I say it still.”

Xi Li: “…”

Qin Fei smiled as he accepted the card awarded for Node 1-1. The node lit up and was named “Beautiful You.”

The terminal remarked, “Your intimacy level must have increased significantly.”

According to the game guides, the main plot was the easiest way to gain intimacy. Completing a task guaranteed at least 5 points, and an exceptional performance could yield even more.

The Business Card Display showed the numerical value of the intimacy level, but the Intimacy menu provided more detail. Its icon was a heart; when clicked, the heart would enlarge and slowly fill up. Increasing intimacy also unlocked side stories and rewards.

Qin Fei clicked Intimacy and saw a completely empty heart. Because there was no numerical value inside, even the outline of the heart looked thin and frail.

Qin Fei pursed his lips.

The terminal stuttered, “Uh, perhaps the data has not updated yet.”

Qin Fei believed it. “Is that so?”

He set the Node 1-1 card as his login animation. When he finished and looked back, the heart remained empty.

The terminal suggested, “Perhaps the game has a bug. You completed the Node 1-1 task; you should have at least 5 points as a baseline. Should I report the bug for you?”

Qin Fei nodded. “Fine.”

The terminal submitted the feedback, but the game officials responded quickly:

Thank you for your feedback. Upon inspection, no abnormalities were found in your game client. We recommend using a gaming pod for a better experience. Please contact us if you need further assistance.

The terminal was furious. “How can there be no abnormality! Do you want me to report it again?”

Qin Fei looked at the large, hollow heart in the center of the screen. “Forget it.”

It was only 5 points. Even holding hands required 20 points of intimacy. These 5 points were truly negligible.

Qin Fei appeared calm. The terminal tried to detect his emotions, but Qin Fei stopped it. “I feel a bit let down, but not exactly sad.”

The terminal said, “It is because I am outdated. Once you arrive at Obsidian Star, go buy the latest terminal model.”

Qin Fei smiled. ” I could never bear to replace you.”

The terminal felt a warm glow inside. Even though the intimacy had not increased, he could not slack off on what needed to be done.

After the starship’s jump, Qin Fei checked the rankings for the “Top 100 Most Handsome 2D Faces.” Thanks to his campaigning and the character’s own inherent appeal, Sha Bei’s rank had surged into the top ten million, sitting at over eight million.

Qin Fei wanted to build momentum and ensure the public was familiar with his character. He was satisfied with the speed of Sha Bei’s rise, which smoothed over his minor disappointment.

Next, Qin Fei opened StarBlog. Before writing his second romantic snippet, he checked the data from his previous post. The comments had already exceeded 300,000.

The top comment praised Sha Bei’s looks. The second and third comments urged Qin Fei to post more, as they were curious about the storyline. The fourth and fifth comments asked about his intimacy level with the character.

Exclusive ABO was a galactic sensation with hundreds of millions of players. However, since the game had been in open beta for less than a year, very few players had reached 100% intimacy. Consequently, aside from aesthetics, intimacy levels were the hottest topic of discussion.

In the short time Qin Fei spent reading, the likes on the comments asking about intimacy doubled, jumping to the second spot in the hot comments.

The terminal found this difficult to handle. Intimacy levels were too objective. No matter how sweet Qin Fei’s romantic stories were, they lacked credibility without proof of intimacy. Conversely, high intimacy would draw endless attention even without stories. If Qin Fei reached 100% intimacy, and the Marriage Ministry still tried to separate them, hundreds of millions of players would surely revolt.

Qin Fei said, “Open the virtual keyboard.”

“Virtual keyboard opened,” the terminal replied.

The fluorescent light reflected on Qin Fei’s face as he typed (2). After a brief pause, his long fingers flew across the virtual keys.

I have always believed in repaying a drop of kindness with a fountain of gratitude, but a life-saving debt is beyond repayment. Just as I was considering offering myself in marriage, an accident occurred.

Qin Fei stopped, pondering the next part.

The terminal asked, “Are you planning to just make things up?”

Qin Fei answered naturally, “I have to distract the people who want to see the intimacy level.”

The only way was to focus on the romance, making the audience so desperate for the next update that they had no time to worry about the actual stats.

Qin Fei typed: A meteorite suddenly struck Sha Bei.

The terminal critiqued, “That hook will not work. Everyone knows 2D characters do not die.”

“I know,” Qin Fei said. He typed: Sha Bei has amnesia.

The terminal said, “Good, very good.”

As the terminal was praising him, the StarBlog page suddenly went black. It lasted only a second before the page restored itself.

The terminal said, “I will troubleshoot the glitch for you.”

“No need,” Qin Fei replied.

The second post had already been sent. He got up to order a meal, replying to comments as he ate. He did not notice a slight anomaly in the flow of data.

It was Xi Li.

Xi Li had once again hacked into the game’s Business Card data. He discovered that Qin Fei had shared the card with other applications. He tried to follow the sharing path to leave the game. After nearly a thousand failures, a portion of his data finally escaped and arrived at a specific StarBlog post.

The sharing path ended there, so Xi Li could only stay in that spot. Although he could not do much else for now, it was a step forward. It proved he had a chance to escape the game.

Xi Li’s mood was decent. Treating it as a breath of fresh air, he did not want to return to the game so quickly. Bored, he began browsing Qin Fei’s StarBlog.

@Qin Fei (Fiancé of the Little Prince): My 2D person. [Shared from Exclusive ABO]

This was the end of the path. Seeing Qin Fei’s verification tag, Xi Li scoffed. That title had surely earned the Qin family plenty of benefits. His fiancé had likely gained much from it as well, Xi Li thought as he looked at other posts.

@Qin Fei (Fiancé of the Little Prince):

(2)

I have always believed in repaying a drop of kindness with a fountain of gratitude, but a life-saving debt is beyond repayment. Just as I was considering offering myself in marriage, an accident occurred.

A meteorite suddenly struck Sha Bei. Sha Bei has amnesia.

Xi Li: “………………”

This was the fiancé’s latest post, and the comment count was growing.

No! He forgot he saved you? What happens next? Is Sha Bei badly hurt?

Qin Fei replied: He did it to save me.

How big was the meteorite! Is Sha Bei disfigured? This is very important to us fans!

Qin Fei replied: Fortunately, no.

Did he forget you?

Qin Fei replied: Yes.

What are you going to do?

Qin Fei replied: I can wait for him to remember me. It is fine if he forgets, as long as he is okay.

Damned game! Oh, my Fei, why are you always the one waiting? It was the same with the Little Prince.

Qin Fei replied: [This reply was retracted] [This comment has been deleted]

Xi Li: “…”

Xi Li laughed out of spite. Deleting comments that mention me, are we? He wondered. Weren’t you acting so deeply in love? Aren’t you still using the fiancé tag?

He insisted on seeing what the retracted reply was. Xi Li entered the StarBlog Drafts and found Qin Fei’s reply.

Damned game! Oh, my Fei, why are you always the one waiting? It was the same with the Little Prince.

Qin Fei’s reply: I can no longer wait for His Highness.

Unexpectedly, it felt like a thorn pricking his heart. Xi Li froze. After a long time, he let out a mocking laugh.

Just like every other time he looked at Qin Fei’s StarBlog, he almost believed the man was actually waiting for him. Waiting for me to fall into a trap, more likely, Xi Li thought, his derision deepening.

An S-rank Alpha’s rut was fierce. Even Xi Li could not maintain absolute clarity during it. Primitive, animalistic desires would seize the brain the moment he relaxed. He had to find a secluded place to resist the urge.

Five years ago, Xi Li had returned to his villa on the Capital Star to secretly spend his annual fifteen-day rut. Someone had leaked his location, and an Omega entered the villa. When an Alpha marks an Omega, the pheromones cause the Alpha to develop complex feelings for the Omega, allowing the Omega to manipulate the Alpha easily. After failing to seduce him, the Omega revealed their true intentions and tried to assassinate him, only to be drowned in the Mimic Deep Sea.

When the fifteen-day rut ended, Xi Li opened his terminal and saw a message from his fiancé.

Prince Xi Li, hello. I am Qin Fei. I would like to talk to you about the compatibility report. I await your reply at your convenience. Sincerely yours.

The message had been sent exactly during his rut. Xi Li stared at his own name in the message, which he had never publicized. “How many people in the galaxy know my name?”

The terminal replied, “The Emperor, Admiral Gerenol, Admiral Song Yun, Colonel Zhou Tingyi, Lieutenant General Biure, and Captain Zhang Sheng. Along with you, that makes seven people.”

Xi Li sneered. “He is quite capable.”

The terminal asked, “Your Highness, should I reply for you?”

Xi Li said expressionlessly, “Put his terminal number on the blacklist.”

“Set to blacklist,” the terminal replied.